NGOs: Hunger Killing One Person Every Four Seconds

Facts

• On Tuesday, in an open letter to world leaders gathering at the 77th UN General Assembly, more than 200 NGOs called for decisive international action to end the spiraling global hunger crisis that is reportedly killing one person every four seconds.
• According to the open letter, the global hunger crisis has been fueled by a deadly mix of poverty, social injustice, gender inequality, conflict, climate change, and economic shocks. These factors mean more than 345M people are now experiencing acute hunger, a number twice that of 2019.
• Despite promises from world leaders that famine would never be allowed to happen again in the 21st century, Somalia is once again facing the threat. In all, there are 50M people on the brink of starvation in 45 countries.
• To address the hunger crisis - which is being exacerbated by increased food prices and a rising cost of living - the NGOs are calling on world leaders to increase flexible responsive funding, strengthen global food systems, and increase grants for climate adaptation activities.
• The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that if no measures are put in place to tackle the current crisis, the situation could result in global destabilization and mass migration on an unprecedented scale.
• Earlier this year, UN agencies warned of a looming catastrophe as world hunger levels again rose year on year. In a recent report, the UN said nearly 10% of the world’s population was affected by hunger last year – 46M more than in 2020 and 150M more than in 2019.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Oxfam, News 24, and Scoop.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Extreme poverty and hunger are global emergencies, but sadly aren't treated as such. Developing countries all over the world are facing unimaginable poverty-catalyzed trauma. Much of the rich world has stepped up to support Ukraine but has failed to recognize that Ukraine is just one of many countries in dire need of aid.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by IOL. The West is doing what it can, but the global food crisis has been exacerbated by unforeseeable events, including the COVID pandemic and now Russia's war on Ukraine. With Ukraine being the world's fifth largest exporter of grain – reportedly making up 40% of the World Food Programme’s wheat stock – the resumption of its exports should help ease some of the emergency. However, the only way to truly abate the global food crisis is to end the war.
• Narrative C, as provided by CNBC. The hunger crisis cannot merely be solved by raw international aid, but with the recognition that food insecurity is about gender. Women farmers comprise 50-60% of the agricultural labor force in low-income countries, but are systematically denied the resources they need to improve or even carry out agricultural practices. Wealthier nations must urgently intervene to support hard-working women farmers.

Predictions